Airplane engine bird strike protection guard

ABSTRACT

An aircraft engine guard, for protecting an aircraft engine against ingestion of large objects, includes a generally cone-shaped body, a base section of the rear end of the guard body and a dome section at the distal forward end of the guard body, at least three, vertical, peripherally extending walls located between the base and the dome section, with successive ones of the peripheral walls having different peripheral dimensions, peripherally cylindrical, with the dimension increasing from the base toward the dome section. A plurality of air intake openings are defined in and between the peripheral walls with at least one dimensional size which is small enough to prevent having birds from being able to pass through the guard into the aircraft engine.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of and priority to Provisional PatentSer. No. 61/989,320 filed May 6, 2014, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to airplane engines and,more particularly, to airplane engine guards that provide protectionagainst bird strikes and ingestion, for use on turbine engines, such asaircraft engines and the like.

The prior art is generally aware of the great risk to airplanes whichensues from the ingestion of foreign objects into the air inlet of jetengines, as reflected by the descriptions in prior art documents,including in U.S. published patent applications: US 2009/0101760; US2010/0180566; US 2010/0287908; US 2011/0000184; US 2011/0011055; US2011/0030333; US2011/0095912; US 2013/0213003; US 2013/0291726; and US2013/0294894, the entire contents of said published patent applicationsbeing incorporated by reference herein.

The problem tackled by the present disclosure is particularly acute withjet engines used by aircraft, since such engines are operated in anenvironment where foreign objects cannot be removed or controlled. Theengines of jet aircraft taxiing on the ground frequently ingest foreignobjects such as tools and other small metal objects, while a jetaircraft in flight is susceptible to ingestions of birds, leaves, paperand other airborne debris.

The ingestion of almost any solid foreign object into the air inlet of ajet engine causes damage to the compressor stages, and possibly to otherportions of the engine. This engine damage is immediately manifested bya partial or complete loss of available engine thrust, with consequentimpairment of aircraft flying ability.

The problem of bird ingestion into jet engines is particularly acuteduring aircraft take-off, where an aircraft may fly through a flock ofbirds at precisely the time when maximum available thrust is requiredfor a safe take-off. Since many commercial and private jet-poweredaircraft have only two engines, it will be appreciated that a partialloss of power in both engines, or a total loss of power in one engine,occurring during or shortly after take-off can have drasticconsequences. Post-crash investigations have proved that numerous jetaircraft crashes, resulting in loss of life and extensive propertydamage, are directly attributable to bird ingestion which occurredduring or shortly after take-off

According to FAA statistics, there have been over 100,000 (Civil andUSAF) wildlife strikes between 1990 and 2008, and the number of strikeshas climbed steadily since 1990. In 1990, the industry saw 1,738 birdstrikes; in 2007, the number had increased to 7,666. Some of that trendis due to increased air travel, but the frequency of wildlife strikeshas tripled from 0.527 to 1.751 per 10,000 flights.

Bird strikes, particularly of the jet's engines, can have catastrophicconsequences. On Oct. 4, 1960, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 was struckby a flock of European starlings during take-off. All four engines weredamaged and the aircraft crashed in the Boston harbor. There were 62fatalities.

Although FAA regulations require that jet engines be designed to permitcontinued operation after ingesting a bird of specified size at aspecified aircraft speed, such design has not eliminated bird strikescausing engine damage and/or failure. On Jan. 15, 2009, a double birdstrike involving Canadian geese impacted U.S. Airways Flight 1549, anAirbus A320-214, about three minutes after take-off from La Guardiaairport, when the airplane was at an altitude of 2,818 feet AGL (aboveground level). The bird strike resulted in an immediate and completeloss of thrust to both engines, forcing the crew to ditch the plane inthe Hudson River.

FAA statistics report that 92% of bird strikes occur at or below 3,000feet AGL, thus at a critical point of takeoff or landing. Proposedground-based wildlife abatement programs, such as radar detection ofbird flocks and use of lights, noise makers, and water cannons are oflittle to no use in abating bird strikes at altitudes such as Flight1549 experienced, or higher altitudes.

The increase in bird strikes has resulted in regular reports ofcommercial jets being forced to make emergency landings shortly aftertakeoff. According to FAA statistics, gulls are the most common type ofbird to strike aircraft, accounting for 19% of the birds identified inbird strikes. Doves and pigeons are the second most common, accountingfor 15% of the birds identified in bird strikes. But as Flight 1549proves, bird strikes of larger birds such as Canadian geese can alsooccur, with devastating consequences.

There are many factors contributing to increasing rates of bird strikesby commercial and military aircraft. These factors include: 1) As jettravel replaced the noisier and slower piston-powered aircraft, thechance of these jets colliding with wildlife increased; 2) Along withthe change in mode of travel there has been an increase in air trafficworldwide, both military and commercial; 3) Natural habitat surroundsmany modern airports and this habitat provides shelter, nesting area,and feeding areas for wildlife that is not usually present in thesurrounding metropolitan area; 4) Many of the world's busiest airports,including Washington Reagan National, Philadelphia International, NewYork La Guardia, and Boston Logan International, are near large bodiesof water that create the aforementioned natural habitats for large waterfowl such as geese and ducks; and 5) Wildlife conservation measuresgenerally serve to increase the populations of native birds. Thesefactors result in a majority of wildlife strikes occurring within theimmediate airport environment. According to FAA statistics, over $600million dollars annually is lost due to wildlife strikes with civilaircraft in the United States alone.

The term “jet engine” as used herein is intended to include varioustypes of engines which take in air at a relatively low velocity, heatthe air through combustion, and expel the air at a much higher velocity.The term “jet engine” includes turbojet engines and turbofan engines,for example.

A jet engine conventionally comprises a compressor section forcompression of the intake air, a combustion section for combustion ofthe compressed air and a turbine section arranged behind the combustionchamber, the turbine section being rotationally connected to thecompressor section in order to drive this by means of the energy-richgas from the combustion chamber. The compressor section usuallycomprises a low-pressure compressor and a high-pressure compressor. Theturbine section usually comprises a low-pressure turbine and ahigh-pressure turbine. The high-pressure compressor is rotationallylocked to the high-pressure turbine via a first shaft and thelow-pressure compressor is rotationally locked to the low-pressureturbine via a second shaft.

In the aircraft jet engine, stationary guide vane assemblies are used toturn the flow from one angle to another. The stationary guide vaneassembly may be applied in a stator component of a turbo-fan engine at afan outlet, in a Turbine Exhaust Case (TEC) and in an Inter-Mediate Case(IMC).

Although, as noted above, the prior art has addressed itself to theproblem, the instant inventor has evolved solutions that overcomevarious drawbacks and shortcomings of the prior art, including providingdesigns that are more sturdy, highly functional, versatile, and alsoaesthetically and aerodynamically more advantageous for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anengine guard that does not interfere with the air intake needs of theaircraft engines.

It is another object of the present invention to provide aircraft engineguards that are aerodynamic and very sturdy.

It is another object of the invention to provide engine guards that canbe easily connected to existing aircraft engine housings.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are realized withairplane engine guards that have a general cone shape appearance withgraduated, distinct diametrical sections that are staggered one in frontof the other to provide a maximum airflow and optimal protection againstbird strikes.

In accordance with the preferred embodiments, the invention is directedto an aircraft engine guard, for protecting an aircraft engine againstingestion of large objects, the guard comprising: a generallycone-shaped body; a base section at a rear end of the guard body and adome section at a distal forward end of the guard body; at least threevertical, peripherally extending walls located between the base and thedome section, successive ones of the peripheral walls having differentperipheral dimensions, said dimensions decreasing from the base towardthe dome section; and a plurality of air intake openings with said airintake openings having at least one dimensional size measuring less thana predetermined number of centimeters. Preferably, the intake openingsinclude a plurality of side facing intake openings located in at leastone of the peripheral walls. The intake openings may include a pluralityof forward facing intake openings in combination with the formeropenings. Tabs may be included to connect the vertical, peripheral wallsto each other and the forward facing intake openings being partiallydefined between the tabs. The air intake openings may include openingsthat extend continuously over two adjacent peripheral walls.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention which refers tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a perspective showing eight different protective guards of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of an air engine protective guard in accordancewith the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear plan view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of air engine guard in accordance with thesecond embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective of a third embodiment of an air engine guard.

FIG. 7 is a perspective of a fourth embodiment of an air engine guard.

FIG. 8 is a perspective of a fifth embodiment of an air engine guard.

FIG. 9 is a perspective of a sixth embodiment of an air engine guard.

FIG. 10 is a perspective of a seventh embodiment of an air engine guard.

FIG. 11 is a perspective of an eighth embodiment of an air engine guard.

FIG. 12 is a perspective of a ninth embodiment of an air engine guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings, the invention is generally directed tojet engine guards that share the feature that they have a base whichmatches the shape of the engine forward housing contour and is easilyattached to the existing engines. Another common feature of the airplaneengine guards of the present invention is that they are generallycone-shaped with successively smaller diameter sections, where eachsection may have a constant diameter, or a tapered diameter or aslightly outwardly bulging region.

Another common feature of the airplane engine guards of the presentinvention is that their housing walls comprise large perforations thatextend around the wall peripheries, where each embodiment differs by thenumber of wall sections, wall angles and number and orientation ofopenings or holes thereat.

Another common feature resides in the provision of a leading structurethat has a cone shape with a forward hat that bears the brunt of thetask of meeting and deflecting birds away from the engine openings. Theleading hat forward component of the guards may be flat, tapered orridged.

The perspective of FIG. 1 shows eight different airplane guard designs,including a first guard 150, a second guard 90, a third guard 170, afourth guard 130, a fifth guard 10, a sixth guard 50, a seventh guard110 or 30 and an eight guard 70.

In general, the guards are made of metal, preferably aluminum that ishalf an inch thick, but could be as much as an inch thick or evengreater, as necessary to have the needed strength and rigidity to absorbforces exceeding well beyond 50,000 foot-pounds impacts. In general, theguards have a general cone shape with a base flange for attaching to theintake side of an airplane engine, and an outer wall made of severalsections and various openings and slots for air intake.

More specifically, the first embodiment of FIG. 2 shows a guard 10, witha base flange 12, with screw/rivet openings 13 (FIG. 3) for beingmounted to the aircraft engine. The openings 13 can be disposed everyinch or so around the periphery to provide a strong hold of the guard 10to the engine (not shown). The guard 10 has a first vertical, baseperipheral side wall 14, with a plurality of side-facing air intakesholes 16 arranged in two circular lines around the periphery, insections with each section having ten holes, five on top and the otherfive below.

In addition, there are also vertical walls 18 a, 18 b and 18 c, each onehaving a smaller diameter than the other, and joined to each other byconnecting tabs 17, as shown. The spaces between the tabs and wallsdefine arcuate horizontal but forward facing slots 19 a, 19 b, 19 c and19 d. The wall 18 d defines the dome of the guard, with a dome hat 22and a plurality of forward facing holes 20. The guard 10, when mountedto an engine plane, assures that no bird component that weighs more than3 pounds can get into the engine, it being understood that the FederalAviation Administration (FAA) has a set specification that requires ajet engine to be able to absorb animal/fowl components of less than orabout four pounds. FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the embodiment of FIG. 2.

In a further embodiment (FIG. 4), the guard 30 has a similar base 32with successive forwardly facing arcuate and horizontal slots 39 a, 39b, 39 c, a dome section and a dome hat 42. FIG. 5 is rear view of FIG.4, showing the screw openings 33 previously mentioned.

In a further embodiment (FIG. 6), the guard 50 has a similar base plate52, a plurality of progressively smaller diameter walls that, in thiscase are curved and have vertically extending and curved arcuate holes59 a, at each level, as shown, terminating in the dome hat 62. The baseperipheral wall 54 has one row of intake side-facing holes 56, similarto the holes 16 of FIG. 2.

In the further embodiment of FIG. 7, the guard 70 has a base 72, aplurality of vertically oriented generally rectangular and side facing,intake holes 72 that are arranged around the periphery and a pluralityof vertical walls with vertically oriented, curved holes 79 a that facepartially forwardly, as shown.

With reference to FIG. 8, the guard 90 of this embodiment has verticallyoriented and curved intake holes 100 in its dome, that are locateddirectly below the dome hat 102, with four vertical walls joined by tabsas before, that define arcuate, horizontally disposed and forwardlyoriented air intake openings, as shown.

In FIG. 9, the guard 110 has a base 112, three vertical walls witharcuate and forwardly facing air intakes therebetween, as well as a domeculminating in a dome hat 122 and a plurality of forwardly facing roundair intake holes at the base of the dome hat, as shown.

In still another variation, the guard 130 of FIG. 10 comprises a base132, with three vertically oriented walls 134 with vertically orientedopenings 134 distributed regularly around the periphery. As before, eachvertical and peripheral wall has a diameter slightly smaller than theone below it, with tabs 137 joining and defining the arcuate airintakes, as shown. Behind the dome hat 142 is a first series ofperipherally distributed, vertically oriented, curved rectangular intakeopenings 141, as shown.

In still another variation of the guards of the present invention, theguard 150 of FIG. 11 has a base 152, a first vertically oriented wall154 a, comprising a plurality of rectangular and vertically orientedopenings 156 around the periphery and an outsized dome portion 154 bthat has a gradually decreasing diameter peripheral wall and comprisesvertically oriented slots of different sizes in several sections aroundthe periphery and forward of those additional holes 157 c which reach tothe dome hat 162. The openings 157 b may be located in an undercutsection 157 a. Also illustrated in FIG. 11, is a detritus door formed inthe guard which is installed in an opening 1190 which also extendspartially through the flange 152. The detritus door comprises a verticalwall section 1193, and a horizontal wall section 1192, where the door ishinged at 1194 and can be opened by opening screws 1191 to reach withinand to remove, from time to time, any collected detritus or foreignobjects that have been sucked into guard through normal operation orthrough encounters with foreign objects in the air.

The further embodiment of FIG. 12 features a guard 170 that comprises avertical wall at the base with a surrounding series of side-facing airintakes and a very enlarged dome section that has vertically orientedholes of different sizes around the periphery and forward thereofarcuate, vertically oriented and inwardly bending slots 177 c, as shown.

In general, from the functionality perspective, the various embodimentsperform the same function of preventing birds being ingested whole intothe engine and permitting only those bird sections that break apart onimpact to be ingested in small pieces, in a manner that can be handledby the aircraft engine, as mentioned. A common denominator of thevarious embodiments is that they all have acceptable aerodynamicsurfaces, are extremely strong in construction and have aestheticallypleasing appearances. At the base, these domes match the opening size ofan engine which could be larger than the height of a person, dependingon the type of engine and aircraft. The general dome shape of theguards, their forwardly decreasing wall diameter sections, and whereapplicable, curved surfaces help deflect bird bodies sideways away fromthe engine intake and the guard's air openings.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aircraft engine guard, for protecting anaircraft engine against ingestion of large objects, the guardcomprising: a generally cone-shaped body; a base section at a rear endof the guard body and a dome section at a distal forward end of theguard body; at least three vertical, peripherally extending wallslocated between the base and the dome section, successive ones of theperipheral walls having different peripheral dimensions, said dimensionsdecreasing from the base toward the dome section; and a plurality of airintake openings with said air intake openings having at least onedimensional size measuring less than a predetermined number ofcentimeters.
 2. The guard of claim 1, wherein the intake openingsinclude a plurality of side facing intake openings located in at leastone of the peripheral walls.
 3. The guard of claim 1, wherein saidintake openings include a plurality of forward facing intake openings.4. The guard of claim 2, wherein said intake openings include aplurality of forward facing intake openings.
 5. The guard of claim 4,including tabs connecting said vertical, peripheral walls to each otherand said forward facing intake openings being partially defined betweensaid tabs.
 6. The guard of claim 1, wherein said air intake openingsinclude openings that extend continuously over two adjacent peripheralwalls.
 7. The guard of claim 1, wherein said air intake openings includevertically orientated openings that are located in a plane that curvesforwardly.
 8. The guard of claim 1, wherein the dome section has, at aleading end thereof, a dome hat.
 9. The guard of claim 1, wherein saidbase comprised a flange with a plurality of opening for attaching theguard to the aircraft engine via screw, bolts, or rivets, passingthrough said openings in said flange.
 10. The guard of claim 1, wherethe peripheral walls have a thickness of at least one-half an inch ofaluminum.
 11. The guard of claim 1, including a first peripheral wallwith two rows of side facing intake openings, and including at leastsecond, third, and fourth peripheral walls and said intake openingsincluding arcuate, forward facing openings between said first andsecond, second and third, and third and fourth vertical peripheralwalls.
 12. The guard of claim 11, including circular, forward facingintake openings formed at said dome section.
 13. The guard of claim 1,wherein said vertical, peripheral walls include a first peripheral wall,a second peripheral wall and third peripheral wall and wherein said airintake openings include a series of forward facing arcuate openingsextending between said first and second peripheral walls, said secondand third peripheral walls and between said third peripheral wall andsaid dome section, and including an additional series of air intakeopenings that are circular and forward facing and located in the domesection.
 14. The guard of claim 1, wherein said air intake openingsinclude a first series of side facing air intake holes and a firstperipheral wall and at least two sets of peripherally distributed airintake openings that are arcuately shaped and extend in a forwarddirection.
 15. The guard of claim 1, wherein said guard body comprisesfirst, second and third peripheral walls and said intake openingcomprise rectangular intake openings distributed peripherally on thefirst peripheral wall and additional intake openings, including openingsthat extend across the first and second peripheral wall, the secondthird peripheral wall, and the third peripheral wall and the domesection.
 16. The guard of claim 1, wherein said guard body comprisesfirst, second, third and fourth peripheral walls and wherein said intakeopenings comprise intake openings that are arcuately shape anddistributed peripherally, including arcuate openings between the firstand second peripheral wall, between the second and third peripheral walland between the fourth peripheral wall and the dome section and whereinthe dome section comprises intake openings the lie in a curved plane andfaced both sideways and forward of the guard.
 17. The guard of claim 1,wherein the said guard comprises at least first, second and thirdperipheral walls and wherein said intake openings comprise arcuateopenings that extend horizontally and face forward toward the conesection and are distributed peripherally and defined at least betweenthe first peripheral and the second peripheral, between the secondperipheral and the third peripheral and between the third peripheralwall and the cone section comprises circular openings that are forwardfacing and located at a forward region thereof, and adjacent a dome hat.18. The guard of claim 1, wherein said guard body comprises at leastfirst, second, and third peripheral walls and wherein said intakeopenings comprise at least four sets of rectangularly shaped and sidefacing openings distributed peripherally, and located and defined in thefirst peripheral wall, the second peripheral wall, the third peripheralwall, and the dome section, said intake openings further comprisingarcuate openings distributed peripherally and defined at least betweenthe first and second peripheral walls, the second and third peripheralwalls and the third peripheral wall in the dome section, said domesection also comprising intake openings that are defined in a curvedplane and reach adjacent to a dome hat.
 19. The guard of claim 1,wherein said guard body comprises a first peripheral wall that iscylindrical and a dome section that has a gradually decreasing diameterand that commences at the region where it joins the first peripheralwall and extends to a dome hat, and said intake openings compriserectangularly shaped, sideways facing openings distribute peripherallyaround the first peripheral wall adjacent a region where the firstperipheral wall joins with the dome section and the dome secondcomprises intake openings that are rectangularly shaped and havedifferent lengths and are arranged in several groups distributedcircumferentially around the dome section.
 20. The guard of claim 19,including a plurality of intake openings that lie in arcuate planesdefining openings that are both side facing and forward facing and reachto the dome section.